RED BULL KING OF THE AIR

Red Bull King of the Air is the world’s largest one-day kitesurfing event. It is man versus nature, and man versus man, as the sport’s top competitors take the beaches of Blouberg in a bid to Command the Elements, Rule the Sky, and Be the King.

Our vision was to bring the world to Blouberg, through the use of technology. This competition has a massive global following, and fans put their lives on hold to see who claims the coveted title of Red Bull King of the Air.

We created an online hub for both riders and consumers alike. The riders were provided with online reviews of the best kiting spots in South Africa, as reviewed by themselves and their peers, as well as a wind widget that kept them in the loop about when the wind was pumping, informing them of when the conditions were perfect for the event to take place. Enthusiasts were given the chance to get up close and personal with their favourite riders through their personalised profile pages. If this wasn’t enough to keep the fans happy, we also included profiles of the sport’s legends, names like Robby Naish, Susi Mai, and Flash Austin.

In the event buildup phase, we called on the fans to have their say about who they wanted to see in the final. Riders uploaded videos of their biggest airs at their favourite spots around the world, and fans could vote for their favourites, helping that rider possibly earn a position in the event.

ONGOING ENGAGEMENT

To step up the online presence, and ensure that fans kept coming back to the site, we devised a competiton mechanic that saw fans scouring through the pages of the King of the Air website to find answers to daily questions; every correct answer brought them one step closer to awesome prizes, like Red Bull merchandise, and a kitesurfing clinic with local pro Johnno Scholte and High Five Kitesurfing School.

EVENT DAY & RESULTS

When the event day rolled around, we brought the world to Blouberg via a livestream feature that showed the action as it happened, boost for boost, as well as a live leaderboard that showed which riders progressed through the various rounds. We recorded an astounding 40 000 unique views for the livestream! One of the most exciting features was the real-time height monitor, that recorded the height of every boost on the day. The page kept all fans in the loop by automatically detecting and showing all King of the Air related social media activity.